


Mightier than the Thorn

by HopeSilverheart



Series: Loving Em at 2AM [40]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Criminals, Angst, BAMF Alec Lightwood, Betrayal, Blood, Crime Boss Alec Lightwood, Crimes & Criminals, Criminal Aline, Criminal Helen, F/F, Found Family, Hurt Aline Penhallow, Knives, Minor Injuries, Organized Crime, Protective Alec Lightwood, breaking up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:07:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24902806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopeSilverheart/pseuds/HopeSilverheart
Summary: “I’ve only let three people leave this organisation unthreatened and unharmed, and I’m not sure why you think you’ll be the fourth.”“Because you don’t want to hurt me.”Her words rang sure and true, and Alec barely held back a grimace. He wanted to deny her statement, wanted to tell her that he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt her to make sure his secrets and people were safe. He wanted to, but he couldn’t, because Helen was right. Alec was determined enough to hurt the people he cared about if he thought it would keep others safe. Aline, on the other hand, wasn’t. Or she was, but not when it came to Helen.Or: Helen wants to leave the Lightwoods behind; Alec isn't so easily fooled.
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Aline Penhallow, Alec Lightwood & Helen Blackthorn, Helen Blackthorn/Aline Penhallow
Series: Loving Em at 2AM [40]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1764400
Comments: 3
Kudos: 61
Collections: Fluff vs. Angst Battle 2020





	Mightier than the Thorn

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thatnerdemryn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatnerdemryn/gifts).



Alec wasn’t easily surprised.

He had built his empire on being able to predict everyone’s next move, and had perfected his people-reading skills in order to anticipate feelings before his opponents and allies were even aware of them. He had carefully constructed a perfect persona, and he didn’t like it when people put his masks at risk.

Especially not people whom he had thought he could trust but who were determined to prove him wrong. Alec had impeccable instincts, but even he hadn’t seen this coming. And apparently, neither had Aline.

His co-worker and almost-sibling was standing behind him, back ramrod straight and hands clenched into fists. The woman in front of them didn’t react to their unusually cold expressions, her mask as uncrackable as theirs. Alec had been the one to train her, and a part of him was extremely proud of her control.

Unfortunately for Helen, the bigger part of him was howling with rage at her behaviour and words and callousness. She was – had been? – one of his best fighters, his left-hand’s partner, a shadow who could kill without batting an eyelash. Now there she was, sitting in front of him solemnly and asking for an out.

She was asking to leave, and Alec wondered what on earth made her think he would treat her any differently than he had other deserters. He wondered what excuse she would give him that would make him accept her betrayal.

“Leaving isn’t that easy, Helen,” he started lowly, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. The blonde gulped, knowing very well that his position wasn’t a good sign. Clearly, she wasn’t as confident as she was trying to appear. Good to know; leverage of any kind was exactly what Alec needed right now. “I’ve only let three people leave this organisation unthreatened and unharmed, and I’m not sure why you think you’ll be the fourth.”

“Because you don’t want to hurt me.”

Her words rang sure and true, and Alec barely held back a grimace. He wanted to deny her statement, wanted to tell her that he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt her to make sure his secrets and people were safe. He wanted to, but he couldn’t, because Helen was right. If Alec had been alone, he would have already broken one of Helen’s arms to make sure she stayed quiet and didn’t betray them. He would have threatened her extensively and made sure she understood she wasn’t welcome here anymore.

Alec was determined enough to hurt the people he cared about if he thought it would keep others safe. Aline, on the other hand, wasn’t. Or she was, but not when it came to Helen. Especially if what Alec was starting to suspect was actually true.

“Oh I definitely want to hurt you,” Alec said calmly, none of his internal turmoil showing on his face as he spoke. “But not for the reasons you might think. However, that doesn’t matter quite yet; right now, there’s only one thing I need to hear from you.”

He didn’t clarify what it was, knowing Helen would understand what he meant even if he didn’t speak the words out loud. After all, the blonde was – had been – one of his most trusted and loyal subordinates. She had been one of his most trusted _friends_ , even. She could read his face almost as well as Lydia and Aline could.

So Alec waited patiently, leaning back in his chair and tapping his fingers on his desk, one of his hands surreptitiously reaching for Aline’s hip and rubbing it comfortingly. His left-hand woman didn’t flinch, didn’t react, but Alec could feel her straightening up minutely at the touch. The single brush of his fingers had communicated the message Alec hadn’t been able to say out loud; he would stand by her no matter what.

Helen and Aline had been two halves of a whole but Alec’s loyalty had shifted as soon as Helen had asked to leave. The blonde might find mercy within Aline’s heart, but she wouldn’t find any at Alec’s hands.

“I don’t belong here,” Helen finally announced, her voice sounding too loud in the heavy silence that had settled upon the trio. The blonde looked at Alec straight on, still purposefully not meeting Aline’s questioning gaze. “I want to leave because I don’t belong, nothing more. I’ve been your dutiful soldier for two years now, but I can’t take it anymore. I’m not meant to be a criminal, Alec, none of us are. You may not see it yet, but I do. I do, and I can’t stand the thought of hurting someone again.”

Her eyes were honest as she spoke, her lips thinned into a determined line, her words coloured with truth. If Alec were anyone else, he would have accepted her explanation, warned her to never approach them again, and let her go. However, he was Alec Lightwood, and he had known Helen for a little over five years. If there was one thing he knew about her, it was that she was an expert at twisting the truth until it was barely recognisable.

The blonde hated lying, but she wasn’t above manipulating honest words until they fit her goals and intentions. Alec had been fooled once, when he was younger, by her brother. He wouldn’t be fooled this time.

“Try again,” he hissed, a smirk curling at his lips when Helen’s lips parted disbelievingly. “You’re good, Helen, but I’ve trained myself to be the best. You weren’t lying, but you weren’t telling the whole truth either. If you want to make it out of here with all your limbs and no obvious scars to be seen, _try again_.”

Helen gulped and narrowed her eyes at him but eventually gave in, sighing heavily as she relaxed into her seat.

“I should have known you wouldn’t be fooled,” she huffed. “You were always surprisingly good at untangling the truth from my stories. However, I really do want to leave, and I really don’t think I belong here anymore. I want to try my hand at something else and prove to you that there can be more to life than killing people who have wronged you in the past. More than that, I want to show _Aline_ that there are other solutions.”

“So you want to change us,” Alec chuckled lowly. “You want to change yourself so you can ultimately turn us into your idea of perfection. Oh Helen, I hope you know your plan is doomed to fail. Aline and I have been in this business for a lot longer than you have, and I can assure you we have thought about quitting at least ten times each. However, we’re still here twenty years later. If two decades can’t change us, I doubt you’ll be able to.”

“Maybe not,” Helen shrugged, her eyes finally flickering towards Aline before settling on Alec again. “However, I’d rather try than live my life in fear of being caught or of my girlfriend finally losing it and letting her violence loose on me rather than our targets.”

A growl slipped past Alec’s lips as he slammed his hands on his desk, standing up so fast Helen almost toppled over in her seat. Her gaze filled with terror and Alec knew her clenched fists hid trembling fingers. Internally, he smirked victoriously. Externally, his mouth twisted into a vicious sneer.

“You’re treading on very thin ice, Helen,” he said deceptively softly. “Before you say anything else about Aline, please remember that she is my third-in-command and my sister in all but blood. We may have been friends, Helen, but you’re asking to leave my organisation. Insulting one of my most trusted lieutenants will only get you in even more trouble than you already are.”

His eyes strayed towards the weapons cabinet underneath his desk and Helen nodded cautiously, raising her hands in surrender.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I was out of line. I don’t want to cause you or Aline any harm, Alec, I just don’t think this is the right place for me anymore. We both know a reluctant soldier is even worse than an untrained one.”

“Oh, I know,” Alec hummed, leaning back in his seat and letting his gaze trail up and down Helen’s body, looking for any sign of deception in the way she held herself. “Those questions weren’t for me.”

Behind him, Aline tensed almost imperceptibly. Helen didn’t look her way, but Alec could tell it was taking all her self-control. Strangely enough, he didn’t think she had wanted to hurt Aline as much as she currently was. He wondered if the two of them had had a conversation he hadn’t known about.

Either way, it was clear to him that Aline hadn’t known about her lover’s decision to leave the organisation, just as it was clear to him that both women still cared about each other deeply.

Their relationship issues weren’t any of his business. The only thing that mattered to him was cutting all the strings that linked him, Aline, and the entire organisation to Helen Blackthorn. If she left, there would be no coming back. And there would have to be a warning.

Alec’s hand slid towards the weapons cabinet so quickly and discreetly that neither women caught the movement. His gaze never left Helen’s as his fingers curled around one of his favourite arrows, and he let a small smirk flit across his features before he jumped into action.

He stood so fast even Aline startled, and then he was kneeling in front of Helen and plunging his arrow into her leg deeply enough that she would need someone else to heal the wound for her. It would also make walking a pain for at least two weeks, if not more. He had been kind enough to avoid any major tendons, but he knew the sting of his arrow hurt just as bad as a blade.

Before Helen could say anything, he ripped the arrow back out and cleaned it of blood with his fingertips, smearing the red liquid onto her clothes so it no longer stained his hand.

“Why did you-”

“The fourth person, Helen,” he breathed out, too quietly for Aline to hear. “You’re the fourth person I’m allowing to leave this organisation alive. This was nothing and we both know it; if I had wanted to hurt you, I would have. Just consider this a warning. If you step a foot inside this building uninvited, if you even think of hurting one of mine, and if you utter a single word of what goes on here, I will find you, and I will treat you as an enemy. From this day forth, you are no longer a Lightwood.”

“Good riddance.”

He pushed Helen off her chair and towards the door as soon as the words were out of her mouth. She didn’t even glance at Aline as she stumbled out of the room and towards her new life.

Alec slammed the door behind her and immediately deflated, rubbing a tired hand over his eyes for a single second, a single moment of weakness, before he turned around and rushed to Aline’s side. As soon as he reached her side, she glanced at him with heartbreak in her eyes and crumpled against him.

“I’ve got you, _hermana_ ,” he whispered against her hair, embracing her as tightly as he could without completely crushing her. “I’ve got you, you’re safe here. And I’m sorry that she left. I’m sorry we couldn’t be-”

He cut himself off, gritting his teeth and clenching his jaw as he tried to fight back tears. Helen had been his friend, his family, and she had left without so much as a goodbye. She had treated them like they were nothing but inconveniences to rid herself of, and Alec hadn’t been prepared for how much it would hurt. Although he supposed what he felt was nothing compared to what Aline had to be going through.

“She’s not coming back, is she?” Aline sobbed against his chest, her tears soaking his suit. Alec shook his head slowly and sadly, knowing there was nothing he could say to make things better. “I wasn’t good enough. I tried to be better for her, tried to be stronger and show her I could protect her, but I wasn’t enough.”

“Aline Jiayi Penhallow,” Alec said sternly, placing his hands onto his friend’s shoulders and pulling back just so he could look into her eyes. “You are more than enough. You are a formidable woman, and you are twice as brave as Helen will ever be. You are kind and compassionate and fair, and anyone who can’t see that is a fool. She may think she’s better than you because she stepped away from this life, but all she’s doing is sinking into denial. _You’re_ the better one here, Aline. Because at least you’re true to yourself; at least you don’t lie to yourself.”

Aline was trembling against him, though Alec could hear her whisper faint ‘thank you’s over and over again until the words stopped making sense. He held her for hours, reassuring her as best as he could whilst coming up with a way to get back at Helen on a more personal level.

By the time Isabelle came around and took her turn with Aline, Alec was ready to act. He nodded towards his sister once, grabbed the arrow he had used to stab Helen, and walked out of his home, determination written all over his face and anger radiating from his entire figure. His subordinates stepped out of the way when he crossed their paths, clearly knowing that something bad had happened.

Alec would have to praise them for their observation and preservation skills later. For now, he headed to Queens as fast as he physically could, driving much faster than was recommended – and allowed – in a city like New York. Still, it had the desired effect.

He reached Helen’s apartment in record time and was racing out of his car and up the stairs as soon as his engine stopped roaring. He stopped in front of her door, smiling at the lack of light filtering from underneath it. She wasn’t home, which meant he had plenty of time to execute his plan.

He twirled his arrow in between his fingers and got to work, carving into the wood diligently and precisely. He hadn’t tortured anyone like this in a very long time, but he had learned how to manipulate his arrows in every way possible when he was ten. All in all, it took him less than ten minutes to finish his handiwork.

Once he was done, he stepped back and admired his message, grinning wickedly as he turned around and left the building as though nothing had happened.

But in his mind, he could still picture the blood-stained words he had carved into Helen’s door, a final message to avenge Aline.

_The Pen is mightier than the Thorn._

**Author's Note:**

> Heya guys! Thank you so much for reading! I have been loving BAMF!Alec in this series, so this fic was almost completely an excuse to write him again. I also wanted to show how Aline and Helen's break-up went down, so this was the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone. The multichaptered fic I have in the works is full of Alec & Aline friendship, so this was a lovely way for me to try it out and see where it could go. I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Love, Junie. 
> 
> (find me on tumblr @hopesilverheart)


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